Lather machine

ABSTRACT

A COMPACT, PARALLEL, DIRECT DELIVERY TYPE LATHER MACHINE HAVING A ONE-PIECE HOUSING WITH COMPARTMENTS FOR A LIQUID SOAP RESERVOIR AND THE LATHER FORMING COMPONENTS. THE MACHINE INCLUDES A LATHER GUARD HAVING A FIRST PORTION FLUSH WITH THE LOWER EDGE OF THE LATHER OUTLET, AND A CONVEX, EXTENSION-LIKE PORTION DEPENDING BELOW AND ON EACH SIDE OF THE LATHER OUTLET TO KEEP THE OPERATOR&#39;&#39;S HAND FROM BLOCKING THE OUTLET. AN IMPROVED LIQUID SOAP VALVE HAS AN O-RING SEAL READILY REPLACEABLE BY SNAPPING THE ORING ON THE END OF THE VALVE STEM. AN IMPROVED ONE-PIECE FRAME MEMBER FOR LATHER MACHINES WHICH INCLUDES A HEATING CHAMBER SURROUNDING THE WHIPPING CHAMBER, A LIQUID SOAP INLET AT ONE END OF THE MEMBER, A LATHER OUTLET AT THE OTHER END OF THE MEMBER, AND THE HEATING CHAMBER BEING SEALED AT THE LIQUID SOAP INLET END OF THE MEMBER WITH THE OTHER END OF THE HEATING CHAMBER BEING OPEN FOR INSERTION OF THE HEATING ELEMENTS.   D R A W I N G

May 25, 1971 A. B. CAMPBELL 3,580,863

LATHER MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 7' Toe/var:

y 25, 1.971 A. B. CAMPBELL 3,580,863

LATHER MACHINE Filed a- 22', 1968 f 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 971 A. B. CAMPBELL3,580,363

LATHER MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1968 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 9

l I I I i i mvzmon ALBERT B. CAMPBELL BY 7y o yl/an -4//, F {Q'vc,ATTORNEYS United States Patent Int. Cl. B011? 7/08 U.S. Cl. 252359 9Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A compact, parallel, direct deliverytype lather machine having a one-piece housing with compartments for aliquid soap reservoir and the lather forming components. The machineincludes a lather guard having a first portion flush with the lower edgeof the lather outlet, and a convex, extension-like portion dependingbelow and on each side of the lather outlet to keep the operators handfrom blocking the outlet. An improved liquid soap valve has an O-ringseal readily replaceable by snapping the O- ring on the end of the valvestem. An improved one-piece frame member for lather machines whichincludes a heating chamber surrounding the whipping chamber, a liquidsoap inlet at one end of the member, a lather outlet at the other end ofthe member, and the heating chamber being sealed at the liquid soapinlet end of the member with the other end of the heating chamber beingopen for insertion of the heating elements.

This application is a continuation-in-part application filed copendingwith my earlier application, U.S. Ser. No. 729,577 filed May 16, 1968,now abandoned.

This invention relates to lather machines and in particular to animproved construction of a parallel, direct delivery type machine.

Lather producing machines are in widespread use at the present time,particularly in barber shops. Generally, the lather is produced by valvereleasing a predetermined amount of liquid soap from a reservoir into awhipping chamber. Such machines are of the parallel, direct deliverytype which produce the lather in the whipping chamber by means of arapidly rotating elongated screw and feed the formed lather immediatelyto the outlet which is in line with the screw and whipping chamber. Thistype of machine is intended to be operated in a free-running manner.That is, as the lather is continuously being produced, the rapidlyrotating whipping screw moves the formed lather in a steady streamtowards the lather outlet. If the outlet is unobstructed, the lather isalmost completely cleared from the outlet by the whipping screw whichcontinues to rotate for a time after the motor has been switched oil.Unintentional blocking or choking of the lather outlet of a parallel,direct delivery type machine by the operators hand or a mound of latherin front of the outlet causes an immediate backup of the lather. Theunused lather is trapped in the lather outlet passageway, dries out, andwith normal usage of the machine, the amount of dried lathercontinuously builds up and blocks the outlet thereby restricting thelather outlet flow. The machine then must be dismantled and the latheroutlet passageway and whipping chamber scrubbed and rinsed to remove theaccumulation of dried lather. In some severe cases, and due to a failureto perform the constant maintenance required, the amount of latherbackup is so extensive as to leak out through the rear of the whippingchamber and cause shorting of the electric heating elements and soilingof the working surface upon which the lather machine is situated.

The present invention is directed to an improved construction of aparallel, direct delivery type lather machine See in which there isprovided a lather guard protecting the lather outlet port to alleviatethe above described constant maintenance problem. As will be moreparticularly described hereinafter, the lather machine of the presentinvention incorporates a convex, downwardly sloping surface extendingbelow and on each side of the lather outlet port, and having a portionflush with the lower edge of the outlet port which tends to keep theoperators hand receiving the lather in the proper non-choking positionbelow the lather outlet.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a lather machineof the parallel, direct delivery type which incorporates a one-piecehousing with a liquid soap reservoir compartment, and a one-piecemounting frame for mounting the motor, whipping screw and motor switchso that the entire unit can be wired outside of the housing and readilyassembled in the housing.

The lather machine of this invention also incorporates a new type valveconstructed such that an inexpensive O-ring seal can be readily replacedupon wearing, obviating the requirement of replacing the complete valveunit in prior art machines.

Still another aspect of this invention is directed to providing acompletely sealed heating chamber at the entrance end of the whippingchamber where the liquid soap initially enters the whipping chamber andbegins the formation into lather. This sealed end prevents shorting ofthe heater elements which heretofore has been caused by the accumulationof minute leakage of liquid soap or a large amount of lather backupwhich persistently worked around the rubber seal commonly used at thisend between the bottom 'wall of the whipping chamber and the heatingchamber. In some cases when a large amount of liquid soap entered thewhipping chamber and the motor was not operated due to an incorrectoperation of the liquid soap valve and motor switch, the liquid soapoozed to the back of the whipping chamber and found its way past therubber packing seal, saturating the heater elements.

The invention will be better understood from the following detaileddescription thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved lather machine of thepresent invention with a protective lather outlet guard;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1,illustrating the lather guard protecting the lather outlet opening;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along section lines 3-3, andillustrating the one-piece housing including compartments for the liquidsoap reservoir and the liquid soap whipping components;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the one-piece frame memberwhich includes a whipping chamber, a liquid soap inlet at one end, alather outlet port at the other end, and means for supporting thewhipping screw, motor, and motor switch;

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevational view taken along section lines 5-5illustrating the interior of the whipping chamber and the placement ofthe heating elements around the chamber;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along section lines 66 and illustratingthe air entrance port into the Whipping chamber and the connections tothe electrical heating elements therein;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the lather machine of this inventionillustrating the mounting of the frame member with attached whippingcomponents in the housing;

FIG. 8 is an exploded fragmentary view illustrating a new valveconstruction controlling the flow of liquid soap and including a readilyreplaceable O-ring seal;

FIG. 9 is a front sectional view taken along section line 9-9 of animproved one-piece frame member illustrating the open front end of theheating chamber through which the heating elements have been inserted;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating the one-piece frame member ofFIG. 9 having a sealed rear end, with the heating elements insertedthrough the front of the heating chamber; and

FIG. 11 is a rear sectional view taken along section line 11-11 of theimproved one-piece frame member of FIGS. 9 and 10 which incorporates acompletely sealed heating chamber rear end.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 there is illustrated the improved lathermachine 10 having a one-piece housing 12 preferably formed of asynthetic resin such as extrusion molded thermoplastic resin exemplifiedby Cycolac, an ABS polymer made by the Marbon Chemical Division ofBorg-Warner, Washington, W. Va., or Tybrene, an ABS resin made by TheDow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., or any other suitable material.The one-piece housing 12 is formed with a continuous outside wall 14, ahorizontal inner wall 16 and a vertical inner wall 18 to divide thehousing into two compartments. A liquid soap reservoir compartment 20 isbounded by the outside wall 14, the horizontal wall 16, and the verticalwall 18 as shown in FIG. 3. The remainder of the inside of housing 12forms a whipping components compartment 22. At the top of the lathermachine 10 there is provided a reservoir cover 26 which can be readilyremoved for filling the liquid soap 28 in reservoir 20.

Referring to FIG. 3 it can be seen that an actuating lever 32operatively engages the liquid soap valve 34 and the switch 36. Theactuating lever 32 includes an actuating stem 38 which engages the valvestem 40. Operation of the valve 34 enables the liquid soap to pass intoa whipping chamber 42 through a passageway 44, and exit as lather atlather outlet port 46 directly in line with the whipping chamber.

The specific construction of the whipping chamber 42, the passageway 44,and the lather outlet port 46 can be seen more clearly by referring to aone-piece frame member 48 illustrated in FIG. 4 which can mostconveniently be formed by casting. The one-piece member 48 also includesa chamber 50 concentric to the whipping chamber 42 for insertion thereinof a series of electric heating elements 52 as illustrated in FIGS. 3and 5. The heating elements are provided for heating the liquid soap inthe reservoir compartment 20. FIGS. 9-11 illustrate an improvedone-piece frame member which includes a permanent sealed wall at the endof the heating chamber nearest the liquid soap inlet to the whippingchamber as will be more particularly described hereinafter.

The lather machine 10 of the present invention incorporates a motordriven screw 54 mounted within the whipping chamber 42 for whipping theliquid soap into a lather for parallel, direct delivery of the lather tothe immediately adjacent lather outlet 46 at the front of the lathermachine 10. The member 48 includes an upwardly extending bracket 56forming a support for the switch 36 and anchoring the member 48 inposition. The U-shaped bracket 56 extends towards the top of the housing12 and includes an aperture therein for accommodating a threaded portion58 of the switch 36 which protrudes through the aperture. A nut 60within the housing and immediately below the bracket 56 engages thescrew threaded portion 58 for adjusting the position of switch 36. AnS-shaped bracket 62 includes a guide portion 64 forming as a guide forthe valve stem 40 of valve 34. Valve stem 40 extends through aperturesin guide portion 64 and the soap reservoir cover 26 to detachably engagetab 38 on actuator 32. Similarly, the switch shaft 66 protrudes throughthe top of outside wall 14 and the bracket 62to detachably engage theactuating handle 32. A locking nut 68 is provided to threadably engage athreaded portion of the shaft 6 9 a o cu ly ock ll at the m m s etweenth 4 nut 68 and the nut 60 in position. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, theone-piece metal frame member 48 is securely attached to the housing 12by means of a pair of screws 70 which protrude through an aperture 72 inthe base of the one-piece member 48 and thread into a respectivethreaded boss 74 below the liquid reservoir compartment.

A motor 76 is supported by means of two screws 78 passing throughflanges 80 on each side of the one-piece member 48 and threadablyengaging the motor 76. A motor shaft 82, driven by the motor 76, extendsinto the whipping chamber 42 and operatively engages the whipping screw54 for rotating the screw at a high speed. At the back end of theone-piece member 48, a U-shaped rubber packing member 84 is located toprevent moisture from undesirably entering the heating chamber 50 anddamaging or shorting the heating elements located therein. Ahorseshoe-shaped splash seal 86 mounted on the back of the whippingchamber 42 prevents the occasional splashing of lather or liquid soapwithin whipping chamber 42 from splashing back through the air entranceport 88 at the back of the whipping chamber. This arrangement is rnostclearly illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, wherein there is also shown theelectrical wires 90 interconnecting the heating elements 52 within theheating chamber to a suitable source.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, it is to be particularly .noted that alather guard 92 extends immediately below and on both sides of thelather outlet 46 to prevent undesirable blocking of the lather outlet.As previously described, the parallel, direct delivery type of lathermachine illustrated herein operates in a free-running manner in quicklyforming the lather and moving the same from the whipping chamber tolather outlet 46. As mentioned previously, blockage of the outlet andthe resulting excessive lather backup in such machines currently in usehas required constant maintenance, and in severe cases replacement ofthe heater elements or other components.

The lather guard 92 illustrated herein forms a guarding surface on eachside of and below the lather outlet 46, as shown in FIG. 2 to preventblockage of the outlet during lather formation and deliverance. Thelather guard 92 has a belly-like, convex outer surface which extendsdownwardly from a junction 98 with the upper front housing portion 12aand flush with the lower lip 46a of the lather outlet to a junction 100With the lower base housing portion 12b, which is recessed and set backfrom the upper housing. The upper junction 98 is flush with and in thesame plane as the lather outlet 46. As can be seen most clearly in FIG.3, the convex outer surface of lather guard 92 slopes away from thejunction 98, forming a smooth extension-like convex portion 92a of thelower lip 46a of the outlet. The convex portion 92a provides a guardsurface extending for a slight distance downwardly below the latheroutlet. It must also be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the guard 92 extendson both sides of the lather outletpreferably for a total overalldistance of about a finger length to assist the operator in preventing atight cupping of his hand around the outlet and undesirably choking themachine outlet. Thus, the guard 92 not only keeps the operators handaway from the front of the lather outlet, but also keeps the hand at asufiicient distance below the outlet to prevent the free-flowing latherfrom building up on the hand and blocking the outlet. It is to beunderstood that other shapes of lather guard surfaces below outlet 46can be utilized, providing the essential features of a first flushportion, followed by a convex, extension-like portion extend downwardfrom the outlet, with the guard preferably extending across the latheroutlet port for about a finger length.

In the final assembly of the unit, a suitable wire cable 102 is securedby a hold-down clip 106 surrounding the cable 102 and fastened to thehousing of motor 76. The final wiring is accomplished with thecomponents outside of the housing by suitably connecting the leads 9Qfrom the heating elements, the terminals 110 from the motor switch 36,the motor leads 112, and the power source leads 114. A keyhole slot 116in the rear housing keeps the cable 102 in position.

It must be particularly noted that the lather machine can be readilyassembled by initially mounting the motor and whipping screw, and themotor switch to the frame assembly 48. After wiring the components, theentire frame assembly and whipping components are mounted in the housingas a single unit. Insertion of the valve in the liquid soap reservoir,and engaging the actuator with the valve stem and motor switch shaftreadily completes the assembly of the machine.

In operation, the motor 76 and the valve 34 are actuated by depressingthe actuator 32, with the motor 76 being actuated to rotate the whippingscrew a short period of time before the liquid valve is opened to allowliquid soap to enter the whipping chamber. Referring to FIG. 8, it canbe seen that as the valve stem 40' is depressed against the action ofspring 120, this releases the O-ring 122 from the valve seat 124 in thethreaded nut 126. The nut 126 engages the threaded aperture 128 in thehorizontal inner wall 16 in the reservoir As shown in FIG. 8, thepassageway 44 through which the liquid soap passes from the reservoirinto the whipping chamber, comprises the hollow interior portion 130 ofthe threaded valve nut 126 having a diameter smaller than a protrudinglip 132 which is extruded from the one-piece cast member 48. The end 134of the lip 132 at the top of the whipping chamber butts up against thehorizontal wall 16 forming the bottom of the reservoir and immediatelyadjacent a threaded portion 128. The valve stem 40- ends in a circularend portion 136' followed by a larger diameter end portion 138 forming ashoulder 140 therebetween. O-ring 122, formed of rubber or any othersuitable resilient type material has a suitable diameter so as to snapover the end piece 136 and be securely maintained in position onshoulder 140. It is to be particularly noted that a significantimprovement in maintenance can be obtained using the valve illustratedin FIG. 8 in that upon wearing of the O-ring 122, a replacement ring canbe readily snapped into position. In prior art valves utilized in lathermachines, the entire valve unit had to be replaced upon wearing of theoriginal unit.

An alternative valve conduit configuration at the passageway 44 can beprovided by press fitting a steel bushing into the bottom wall 16 of thereservoir. The bushing can be formed so as to extend between theprotruding lips 132 and down into the whipping chamber. Internal threadscan be provided on the bushing for receiving a threaded valve seat suchas the threaded valve nut 126.

Referring to FIGS. 9-11, there is illustrated an improved one-pieceframe member of the type shown in FIG. 4. In the past an annoying andpersistent accumulation of liquid soap leakage around the liquid soapentry to the whipping chamber found its way around the rubber packingmember 84 (FIG. 6) and after a period of time shorted the heatingelements 52. Excessive lather backup also contributed to this problem.

The improved one-piece frame member 150 of FIGS. 9-11 completelyrectifies this problem and is adaptable to any type of lather machinehaving a heating chamber surrounding a whipping chamber with a liquidsoap inlet to the whipping chamber at one end thereof, such as shown inthe illustrations herein. In the improved frame member 150 the rear end152 of the heating chamber is completely sealed by an extension wall 154extending continuously as one piece from the outer wall 156 of theheating chamber to the outer wall 158 of the whipping chamber. This canbe most conveniently provided by casting the frame member 150 as asingle one-piece unit, although the sealing wall 154 can instead beformed of a separate member welded to the bottom wall 156 and wall 158.It may be noted that the front end 160 of the frame member is open toenable insertion of the heating elements 6 52 into the heating chamberwith the heater wires passing through suitable apertures in the sealingend wall 154 at the extreme upper end of the heating chamber.

The frame member can be formed as a casting similar to frame member 48(FIG. 4), except that the rear end 152 of the heating chamber isprovided with the sealing end wall 154 and the front end is left open.This provides a significant improvement in preventing liquid soapleakage and lather backup from shorting the heater elements, which hasbeen the primary and most disturbing problem of prior art lathermachines. It is to be noted that the improved frame member of FIGS. 9-11still permits the heating elements to be readily inserted into theheating chamber with the heater leads 90 conveniently located at therear end of the member adjacent the remaining electrical components forsuitable connec tions thereto. The open end 160 can either be left openor a suitable rubber seal or packing member 162 can be provided at thisend. However, it must be noted such a seal is. unnecessary since thereis no chance for leakage to enter the heating chamber from this end.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearance ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved, compact readilyassembled lather machine comprising:

a one-piece housing having a continuous outer wall forming an enclosurefor said machine;

a liquid soap reservoir compartment having a horizontal bottom wall anda vertical back wall, both of said walls formed as part of said housingand continuous with said housing outer wall, said compartment includinga liquid soap outlet in the bottom wall thereof,

liquid valve means in said liquid soap outlet for controlling therelease of liquid soap from said reservoir;

a whipping components compartment within said housing defined by theremainder of said housing between said liquid soap reservoir compartmentand said outer wall, said whipping components compartment enclosing thecomponents for whipping said soap into lather;

a one-piece frame assembly for readily mounting said whipping componentsin said housing, said frame assembly including,

a whipping chamber,

a lather outlet formed as an extension of said whipping chamber at oneend thereof,

a liquid soap inlet passageway at the other end of of said whippingchamber, said liquid soap passageway intermediate said whipping chamberand said liquid soap outlet in said reservoir bottom wall forcommunicating therebetween,

a heat chamber substantially surrounding said Whipping chamber forcontaining heating elements to heat the liquid soap in said reservoir,

a horseshoe-shaped bracket vertically extending from the other end ofsaid whipping chamber with the closed end of said bracket away from saidwhipping chamber for supporting switch means near the top of said closedend,

means including a horizontal flange extending from each side of saidframe assembly for mounting said frame assembly to said bottom wallimmediately below said liquid soap reservoir compartment,

means including a vertical back flange at the other end of said whippingchamber;

an elongated whipping screw mounted for rotation in said whippingchmaber;

an electrical motor having a rotating shaft secured to said whippingscrew for rotating the same;

means for mounting said motor to said frame assembly vertical backflange;

an electric switch for operating said motor, said switch having a switchactuating shaft extending from one end;

means for mounting said switch on said frame assembly bracket near thetop of said closed end;

wiring means electrically connecting said heater elements, switch andmotor for operating said machine from a power source;

means mounting said frame assembly in said whipping componentscompartment with said lather outlet projecting beyond said housing, saidframe assembly bracket immediately adjacent said reservoir compartmentvertical back wall, said switch actuator sha-ft projecting through anaperture in said continuous outer wall at the top of said housing, andsaid mounting means including threaded screw means engaging said frameassembly horizontal flange with said reservoir compartment horizontalbottom wall and threaded securing means engaging said switch forsecuring said frame assembly bracket and said switch to said housing.

2. An improved, compact lather assembly as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid liquid valve means includes a valve stem protruding beyond the topof said housing, said machine assembly further including a guide brackethaving one end operatively engaging said valve stem for guiding saidvalve stem during operation of said liquid valve means, the other end ofsaid bracket intermediate said threaded nut and said housing so as tosecure said guide bracket in position.

3. An improved, compact lather assembly as claimed in claim 1, whefeinsaid reservoir compartment horizontal bottom wall includes a pair ofthreaded bosses projecting downwardly toward said frame assemblyhorizontal flange and wherein said threaded screw means engage saidhorizontal flange with each of said threaded bosses.

4. In a parallel, direct delivery lather machine forming lather fromliquid soap, said machine including,

a housing enclosing the operative components of said machine,

a whipping chamber mounted in said housing,

a lather outlet aligned with said chamber at one end thereof and havingan outlet port with upper and lower lips protruding from said housing,

a motor driven elongated whipping screw in said chamber for forminglather from said liquid soap entering the other end of said chamber.

said whipping screw directly moving said formed lather in a steadystream along said chamber to said outlet port for delivery to themachine operators hand receiving the lather at said outlet port, theimprovement comprising:

a lather guard secured to said housing below said lather outlet and oneach side thereof, said lather guard including;

a convex surface extending downwardly from said outlet port to ajunction with said housing below said lather outlet;

a first portion of said convex surface abutting the lower lip of saidoutlet port;

said first portion of said convex surface and said outlet port lying inthe same plane; and

a second portion of said convex surface extending from said firstportion below said lather outlet and transversely extending on each sideof said outlet port;

said lather guard enabling said operators hand receiving said latherfrom said outlet port to be located a sufiicient distance below and awayfrom said outlet port so as to prevent blockage of said outlet portbythe operators hand or by the lather delivered to the hand at said outletport (luring operatiQn of said machin 5. The improved lather machine asclaimed in claim 4, wherein said second portion transversely extendingbelow said outlet port and on each side thereof has a total length atleast about a finger length.

6. An improved lather machine in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidliquid valve means further includes:

a valve stemextending substantially vertically into said liquid soapoutlet, said stern being less in diameter than the diameter of saidliquid soap outlet to allow a small space between said stem and saidliquid soap outlet;

an angled dome-like valve seat having a frustoconical shaped wall withan opening therethrough defining said liquid soap outlet;

said valve seat tapering outwardly away from said liquid soap outlet;

a first circular disk secured to the end of said valve stem in saidoutlet below said valve seat;

said disk having a diameter substantially greater than the diameter ofsaid liquid soap outlet;

a second circular disk secured to said first disk and having a diameterlarger than said first disk, said first and second circular disksforming a shoulder therebetween;

an O-ring concentric to and snugly engaging said first circular disk tolie within said shoulder; and

means including spring means surrounding said valve stem urging saidO-ring to engage a portion of said frusto-conical shaped wall to providesealing surface engagement with said valve seat and to urge said O-ringto sealingly engage said shoulder;

whereby said O-ring can be readily replaced upon wearing thereof andsaid disks are maintained from entering said liquid soap outlet.

7. In a lather machine of the type having a liquid soap reservoir, awhipping chamber, a liquid soap inlet at the rear end of the whippingchamber for entering liquid soap from said reservoir into said chamber,a lather outlet at the front end of the whipping chamber, an elongatedmotor driven whipping screw inserted in the rear end of said whippingchamber and rotatingly mounted in said whipping chamber for whippingsaid liquid soap at said rear chamber endforming a lather exiting fromsaid lather outlet, and a heating chamber substantially surrounding saidWhipping chamber, including heating elements therein for heating saidliquid soap in said reservoir, the improvement comprising:

said heating chamber defined by the combination of an outer wall of saidwhipping chamber extending from the rear to the front of said whippingchamber;

a heating chamber outer wall formed in an arc around said whippingchamber outer wall, and extending longitudinally substantially thelength of said whipping chamber;

a sealing rear end wall transversely extending from and between bothsaid heating chamber outer wall at the rear end thereof and the rear endof said whipping chamber outer wall to substantially seal the heatingchamber rear end defined therebetween; and

the front end of said heating chamber defined between said whippingchamber outer wall front end and said heating chamber outer wall frontend being substantially open to enable said heating elements to beinserted through said front end and into said heating chamber.

8. The improvement of claim 7, wherein said heating elements include apair of electrical wires connected thereto and exiting from said heatingchamber at the rear end thereof through an aperture between said sealingrear end wall and said whipping chamber outer wall at the extreme upperend of said heating chamber.

9. A. lather machine forming lather from liquid soap, said machineincluding a liquid soap reservoir having an outletpassage; a whippingchamber mounted below said liq id soap reservoir and co municatin ithsai outlet passage, and liquid valve means in said reservoir forcontrolling the flow of liquid soap from said reservoir to said whippingchamber through said outlet passage, the improvement comprising:

said valve means including a valve stem extendingsubstantially'vertically into said outlet passage, said stem being lessin diameter than the diameter of said outlet passage to allow a smallspace between said stem and said outlet passage;

an angled dome-like valve seat having a frusto-conical shaped wall withan opening therethrough defining said outlet passage;

said valve seat trapering outwardly away from said outlet passage;

a first circular disk secured to the end of said valve stem in saidoutlet below said valve seat;

said disk having a diameter substantially greater than the diameter ofsaid outlet passage;

a second circular disk secured to said first disk and having a diameterlarger than said first disk, said first and second circular disksforming a shoulder therebetween;

an O-ring concentric to and snugly engaging said first circular disk tolie within said shoulder; and

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,764,324 9/1956 Landreth 222518X2,965,309 12/1960 Parrott 239-343X 3,215,642 11/1965 Levy 239343X2,960,998 11/1960 Sinker et al 137542 3,144,963 8/1964 Savage 222-66STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner 20 H. S. LANE, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

